Abstract

William Henry Harvey's 'Travelling Sets' of Australian algae as held in his home institution of Trinity College Dublin and in the National Herbarium of Victoria at Melbourne are described and enumerated and the contents are documented for the fi rst time. It is shown that the collection of almost 600 numbers contains numerous type specimens with some unpublished ancillary notes. The Trinity College Dublin collection is especially taxonomically important as it contains much holotype and lectotype material. However, as the specimens in this collection are never sent on loan, this paper provides the only coherent source of information on the material in the collection. It draws attention to the web-based resources available for study of this important collection, elucidates the status of these specimens and indicates where further detailed study of material is required.